Hasan showed up for the half-day administrative hearing sporting a beard, which military prosecutors said was a violation of Army regulation 670-1 and court-martial rule 804(4)(1). Judge Col. Gregory Gross then went on record saying that Hasan's beard was a disruption to the proceedings.

The defense indicated it would file a request for exception to the policy for religious accommodation for Hasan, an American-born Muslim, to the Department of the Army.There was no indication how long it would take for a decision to be made on such a request.

The pre-trial motions will resume when Hasan adheres to the Army regulation or when a closed-circuit feed can be set up for him to observe the trial from a different location, the military said. A location has not been determined should the closed-circuit option be needed.

The motions scheduled for Friday included a request for further continuance, resolution of discovery matters and whether the accused should receive the services of an expert neurologist at government expense. It was unclear when the motions would be addressed.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. If convicted, he could face life without parole or the death penalty.

Eight soldiers and five civilians were killed in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack on the Army base in Texas. Hasan was wounded and paralyzed from the chest down before being captured.